Sleepless Nights Led To A Design Of Love And Support

Adam Zuckerman shakes hands with Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chief Bill Halstead on January 21, after MrZuckerman made a financial donation to and shared licensing rights for his "Sandy Hook School In Our Hearts" design with the company. On the left is SHVFR President Bradley Richardson.

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Adam Zuckerman, like many others, had trouble sleeping in the nights following 12/14.

Instead of tossing and turning, the Sandy Hook resident and designer got out of bed and went to work. Mr Zuckerman used his restless energy to create a design that has since appeared on stickers: a heart surrounding the Sandy Hook School sign. He added white lettering that says "In Our" in the area above the school sign, so that the message of the sticker reads "Sandy Hook School In Our Heart."

Some of the stickers were given to those who work at Sandy Hook School, others were given to the families who lost loved ones that terrible Friday morning, and the rest were made available to the public in exchange for donations. Most people gave at least a few dollars. He collected more than $1,400 for his efforts.

On January 21, Mr Zuckerman and his wife Suzanne were at Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue's main station, making a presentation to the company.

"From the get-go I felt that half of anything raised through these stickers would go to this volunteer fire company," he told firefighters prior to a company meeting last month. "The other half is going to a fund for the families. Tonight I give you $710."

"I kept seeing that sign on the news, with the wording 'Welcome Visitors' [along the lower portion of the school's sign], over and over, and I thought 'That's who we are, and who we need to stay,'" the soft-spoken man continued. "I couldn't sleep. I felt I had to do something positive."

In addition that evening, Mr Zuckerman handed off the license of his design to the fire company. He has also given licensing rights to the Town of Newtown, Newtown Memorial Fund, and is willing, he said, to make the design available to other organizations.

"I am giving the design to the company for anything that will help you, from now on, in perpetuity," Mr Zuckerman told the firefighters. "I never wanted to be a fundraiser. This is for you to continue."

The 1,000 stickers from the initial printing are "almost all gone," he said recently. Another 300 have been ordered. The stickers measure four inches wide by four inches high. They have been printed in Connecticut, by Sign Stop Signs in Wallingford and Minuteman Press in Shelton.

The stickers that had been made with Mr Zuckerman 's design were forwarded, through Stone River Grille, to staff and faculty of Sandy Hook School, and through demitasse café, they were forwarded to the families who lost loved ones on 12/14. The designer also personally gave several to police officers from other towns who helped with the traffic control detail at Sandy Hook Center whenever he had the chance, he said.

Beyond that, stickers were dropped off at The Newtown Bee, Sandy Hook Deli & Catering, Sandy Hook Diner, Sandy Hook Hair Co., Cork & Barrel, and the aforementioned restaurant, now closed, and coffee house. The stickers were also available at The Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, where Mr Zuckerman is director of exhibits.